Tobacco clearly takes a significant toll on the lives of Americans, causing 450,000 premature deaths each year, and drastic measures should be taken to eliminate the habit from our lives, including, some say, banning cigarettes. But others argue that, in today's society, such a goal is overly idealistic, and would be extremely difficult to implement.

"As someone who's looking out for public health, I think it's a great thing," said Dr. Bradley Flansbaum, a hospitalist at Lenox Hill Hospital in N.Y. "Knowing that tobacco is public enemy No. 1 in preventive illness...I don't think I can endorse smoking for any reason," Flansbaum said.

However, "Politically, it's going to be a tough if not impossible sell," Flansbaum said.

In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration banned the manufacture and distribution of flavored cigarettes, such as chocolate and cherry, over concerns that the products encouraged youth smoking. However, banning all cigarette products is a different matter entirely. Barriers to passing such a ban include the power of big tobacco companies, the cost of enforcing such a law, and the rise of a black market for cigarettes, experts say.

"Once you have a substance out there like tobacco in wide use it's hard to turn around and make it illegal," said Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University School of Medicine's Division of Medical Ethics, "You can certainly tax it, you can certainly stigmatize it," and educate against its use. But ban it? "In reality, it's not going to happen," Caplan said.

"Smoking has been around too long, and the industries that profit from it are huge and will fight to the end," Caplan said.